Waiting For You
by Splasher
Summary: Kiba remembers the time he saw Hinata as more than just a friend. But will he gather the courage to tell her before her love for Naruto wins out? Kiba x Hinata one-shot.


_Author's Note_: _Well, I had fun writing this. I didn't at first, but . . . eventually I grew to enjoy the weirdness of writing in Kiba's third-person point of view. I hope everyone was in character. I added the flashback to make sure it wasn't dumb—like some of my ideas are (the couple already likes each other, they're just afraid of saying it,which already puts them out of character) Well, I did my best! Hope you enjoy! And please review if you see something that can be improved! I think some of my words were used incorrectly, but I was too excited to look them up and make sure they weren't. But anyway, enjoy!_

_Summary__: Kiba remembers the time he saw Hinata as more than just a friend. But will he gather the courage to tell her before her love for Naruto wins out? Kiba x Hinata one-shot.  
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_Disclaimer__: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, but I do own this particular scene._

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Waiting for You

Every morning, Kiba Inuzuka would wake up to the thought of Naruto Uzumaki, the one who had defeated him during the Chunnin exams, the one who had somehow become his only rival in his most important dream. And Naruto Uzumaki would wake up to the thought of nothing, Kiba knew. The fact that Naruto would torment Kiba every living second of the day without even knowing it drove him off the edge. He could bet that Naruto didn't even _want_ to be Kiba's rival over this silly problem.

But it still had somehow happened. Every time Kiba ever saw the dumb blonde, every time Kiba ever thought of that sorry excuse for a ninja, he couldn't help but scream profanities in his head or feel the need to fight. Somehow he kept his emotions at bay—unless a better excuse for insulting Naruto arose, and he could get away with it.

This morning was no different. The image of the blonde kid stuck in his head, reminding him of everything Naruto had taken away without even realizing it. He was so dimwitted, so oblivious to everything around him. Why else would a girl blush and faint when you only give her a look? The answer was so obvious that it was an embarrassment to Naruto.

Kiba sighed and rose from his bed to go train. Usually training was the only thing that cleared his head. Shino and Hinata were already at his door and were waiting for him

Hinata. The beautiful, bright-eyed princess, destined to be the heir to the Hyuga clan, stood as he stepped outside of his home, and he watched while her raven hair blew in the wind, the locks spreading apart, making her face even more beautiful than it already was.

He suspected that Shino already knew about his secret. He could tell by the impassive look crossing his teammate's face, every time Kiba even looked in Hinata's direction. He only hoped that Hinata didn't know, for as much as he hated to admit it, Hinata still had a crush on Naruto, and it wasn't going away . . .

As Kiba finally started heading toward his team and as his dog Akamaru tailed behind him, he recalled all the days when he had argued with himself—were Hinata's feelings for Naruto love or just a silly crush? Was she passionate about the blonde kid, or did she simply like him? That argument arose especially when he was falling asleep, and he could never disband it.

"Oh, h-hello, Kiba," Hinata spoke with her soft, angelic voice.

Shino adjusted his glasses and nodded a greeted.

"So, where we going today, guys?" Kiba asked aloud. "Training, right?"

Shino nodded, once again, and the three—four, including Kiba's puppy—began their journey to the training grounds, just as they did ever morning.

Akamaru yelped before jumping into Kiba's jacket. _You should ask her how she's doing! _he translated roughly. Usually he just understood by thinking of pictures to describe the dog's words, except this time Akamaru seemed particularly stubborn about getting his point across.

He sighed while he desperately tried to suppress his blush at merely thinking of Hinata.

His dog barked again, yet Kiba didn't recognize the sound . . . He could understand when Akamaru actually wanted him to understand, but sometimes the dog's language was just gibberish.

"How are you today, Hinata?" he asked quietly.

Hinata glanced at him with a startled, curious expression on her face.

He wasn't surprised. Usually he loathed Hinata for loving—no, _liking_—Naruto, and he would take his anger out on her. He hardly greeted her, he hardly spoke to her, and when he did speak to her, he was not nice. Shino would lecture him for hours when they were alone, only to say the same thing over and over again: he never would have a chance unless he was nice.

And now even Akamaru was agreeing with the bug-master!

"Um . . . I'm doing very well. T-thank you," she responded. "How are you?" Her voice was just a squeak, but everyone would strain more to hear a whisper.

Except Naruto. That damn kid never understood a word she said. And when Hinata was hurt, he was hurt. "I'm great!" His words sounded more enthusiastic than he felt.

Then they reached the training grounds. This time, something was different; Kiba could already feel the drawn-out tension in the air before anyone had even appeared. But when they saw the place where they normally trained, he understood exactly why he felt the familiar tension.

Naruto Uzumaki. His number one rival in love.

And he could remember how it had all began.

_Kiba was walking Hinata home. He proclaimed himself to be her "big brother." The one always looking after her. Of course, Shino shared a portion of the role, yet Kiba always made sure he was in the lead on "brother" points! Besides, who would prefer to have a brother with creepy bugs to a brother with a cute, little puppy? Hinata didn't seem to mind either of them though . . . She wasn't afraid of bugs, and she wasn't any nicer to dogs than she would be to an insect. Hinata was kind by nature._

_Besides, Shino had disappeared for the day—probably to practice with his insects—and night was approaching quickly. Kiba didn't want Hinata walking home by herself, all in the dark._

_The moonlight shone on the path before them, Kiba holding Hinata's hand like any big brother would. Perhaps, Hinata's byakugan would have saved her any trouble . . . Perhaps, _she _was the one holding _his_ hand, saving him from what he couldn't see in the dark corners of the alleyways._

_But suddenly Naruto Uzumaki casually saw them and waved dramatically. "Hey, Kiba and Hinata!" he shouted, even though he wasn't too far away. "What are you doing out here so late?"_

"_O-oh, hello, N-Naruto," Hinata stammered, tripping like always over her words. She seemed to stutter less when Shino was around—a fact that Kiba resented._

_Kiba smirked. "We're just out for a stroll. What are you doing?"_

"_Sakura just went home, so . . . I guess I should now, too," Naruto said, his usual hyperactive voice almost dead with emotion._

"_You let her walk home alone?" he demanded. And Sakura was even weaker than Hinata, and he still walked the Hyuga home!_

_Naruto frowned. "Yeah! You got a problem with that? It's not like I wanted to! She just left because of . . . that dumb Sasuke!"_

"_K-Kiba, I'm . . . sure N-Naruto means well . . ." Hinata whispered._

_He looked down at her, and realized she was blushing because Naruto looked at her. And this sensation of . . . anger kicked in towards Naruto. But it wasn't really anger that boiled within him; he didn't know what the emotion was._

"_Right," he said. He didn't even know a good retort. He just couldn't insult her at the moment. That strange feeling was robbing his mind. What was it?_

_Naruto began strolling away. "Well, if that's all you wanna yell at me for, I'll just be going now."_

"_Oh, b-bye, Naruto!" Hinata tried to yell, but he didn't hear her._

_Kiba felt the feeling—which he decided to name anger—intensify. The emotion . . . He was angry with Naruto because of Hinata—oh! It was jealousy. But why?_

"Hey, Naruto, what're you doing here?" Kiba demanded. "This is our spot."

Naruto turned around to face him, his eyes closed due to refusal. "I don't see your name written on it, Kiba! I was here first!"

"Um . . . K-Kiba, there are plenty of . . . other training grounds w-we can use," Hinata told him, and his jealousy, which was rising at hearing her defend Naruto, prevented him from listening to that beautiful voice, no matter how much he longed to.

"I don't see your name written on it either, Naruto! We'll take it by force!" he exclaimed.

Hinata wildly shook her head. "N-no! . . . It's okay, r-really."

"Come on, Kiba," Shino stated. "Hinata's right. Let's go train somewhere else."

"P-please, Kiba?"

Kiba sighed in defeat. The angelic voice was begging now; he couldn't refuse. "All right."

They began walking away, but he noticed Hinata look back, only to say, "S-sorry for th-the trouble, N-Naruto."

He grinned. "No problem!"

Kiba glared at Shino's back. If only Naruto had been the one, to leave that night, that night when he first felt that jealous, instead of Sasuke. After all, he knew Sakura was outrageously in love with Sasuke, but now that half of a year had passed, she seemed more inclined to love Naruto now. So if Naruto was out of reach, would Hinata turn to him?

"_You're jealous of Naruto because of Hinata?" Shino clarified when the two of them were alone, the morning after. Shino was about to leave on some mission with his dad, and Kiba had decided to take Akamaru for a walk. The early birds chirped, waking the village slowly but surely as the sun rose._

_Kiba nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know why," he replied. "It's so strange . . ."_

"_It was when you saw Hinata blushing, right?" His sunglasses covered any centimeter of emotion in his eyes, yet Kiba could see a small smirk trying to form._

"_Yeah. What's so funny?"_

_The smirk again tried to grow stronger, yet it vanished almost immediately after. "Well, if anything, I think you should figure it out on your own."_

"_What?!"_

"_You heard me."_

_Over the next few minutes when Shino left to finally go on that mission with his dad, Kiba thought about it hard, but he never could decipher the problem until suddenly he found Shikamaru asking if he could go after Sasuke, who had left the village. It was lucky he had taken Akamaru for an early walk. He was itching for a good mission to go on._

_But still he was angry after he heard about Sakura trying to stop him the night before . . . But he didn't know why he felt such empathy for Sakura—empathy, instead of sympathy. What made his situation similar to hers?_

_She loved Sasuke, but he didn't love her back at all. So? Kiba didn't love anyone . . ._

_Hinata._

_Jealousy over Naruto. _

_Did he . . . love Hinata?_

Hinata was walking ahead now ever since Shino had pulled back to stand next to him. Shino only purposefully moved next to someone when he had something important to say.

He whispered, "You should be nicer to Naruto."

Kiba frowned at his teammate. "Why the hell should I do that?"

"Hinata is stressed between defending her teammate and defending her crush. You're the one causing the stress, so it's only natural she won't like you," Shino explained, his voice almost monotone.

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm trying."

Shino moved back to the lead again, obviously having nothing left to say.

Kiba bit his lip. "Uh . . . You're hair looks nice, Hinata," he complimented with a bit of hesitation.

She glanced back at him in surprise, her lavender eyes still joyful. "Oh, thanks, Kiba," she said.

He knew her surprise well. He hadn't complimented her for half a year . . . Not since he realized he loved her.

_He was fighting this guy called Sakon—no, there were two of them . . . Sakon and Ukon. And he was losing. There was blood all over his body. Akamaru was unconscious. All of this, just for Sasuke. He was risking his life just so _Sasuke_ couldn't get his way . . ._

_Oh, how he envied Sasuke for his personality. Sasuke never loved anyone, or at least, he didn't think the Uchiha did. Kiba longed for that indifference. Love was confusing; love hurt, and he didn't enjoy the feeling._

_But then again, love made him full of life. He loved Hinata. She gave him life._

_But he was dying now._

_So many things he had not told Hinata before he left, just what seemed like a few hours ago. He hadn't told her about his love, and most of all, he had never told her how beautiful she was in his eyes. The beauty, Naruto never saw; the beauty, Kiba couldn't possess. _

_Things were changing, but he was dying._

_Maybe . . . Maybe he could run away, back to Konoha, and live. But this guy would follow him, he was sure._

_Akamaru . . . At the very least, he should try running to get Akamaru out of there._

They were training now. Akamaru was running around, aiming his urine at certain trees as Kiba practiced working together with his dog. Hinata was improving her Byakugan and gentle fist.

Shino was practicing with his bugs.

Kiba finally jumped down from the trees, and stood in front of Hinata. "You know, I could use some help on dodging, and you could use someone to practice your Jutsu on," he told her, driving down the urge to blush. He was confident in everything else, so it was funny how his belief in himself could melt down when merely speaking to a weak, little girl. A beautiful, weak, little girl . . . "Wanna train together?"

"O-okay," Hinata answered, surprised again.

He knew he was being nice all of the sudden. He hadn't for six months. He had been angry with her for still liking Naruto of all people, the one who thought she was invisible. He didn't want her to feel like that anymore, which was probably the reasoning behind his sudden urge to be nice.

_Kankuro, a Shinobi from the Sand village, was fighting Sakon and Ukon now. Kiba was saved for the moment._

_And eventually, after his recovery from his and his dog's drastic wounds, he could tell Hinata how he felt._

_Though when he _was_ back in Konoha and in a stable condition, he never summoned up the courage . . ._

They were done training for the day. Kiba and Shino were walking Hinata home, just as they always did. Akamaru felt warm in his jacket, and the dog was still telling him various ways to compliment Hinata, all of which he refused.

He had another idea in mind.

Finally they were at her house, but Kiba walked Hinata all the way to the door. Shino, most likely, sensing Kiba's sudden urge to be alone with the Hyuga princess, stayed at the gate, turned away politely.

"Hey, Hinata," Kiba said before she opened the door after she gave her gratitude.

Her clear eyes glanced at him, but luckily surprise no longer registered on her face.

The sun was setting, and it was casting beautiful streams of light that shone on Hinata's face. Though none of the sunlight's rays could match Hinata's beauty, Kiba thought the pink and orange complimented her small yet pretty face.

"What is it, Kiba?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. He loved her for that—her voice, so soft and gentle.

"Well . . . When you get over Naruto," he told her, finally allowing the blush to cover his face . . . No, _when_ was the wrong word. He had to do this the right way. "I mean, um . . . _If_ you get over Naruto," he said, the words almost choking him, "remember that I'm waiting for you."

He examined her face closely, afraid of resentment or sorrow to appear. Yet those dark emotions never did.

Hinata was smiling. "Well, uh . . ." she began nervously. "I-I guess you can say _when,_ instead of _if_. I was n-never sure . . . if it would last with him anyway."

He smiled right back at her, elation seeping through every portion of his body, even down to his fingertips. "Thank you, Hinata."

When. When she got over Naruto.

She would be his.

-Splasher-


End file.
